Vail Resorts to lay off 2,000 workers throughout Colorado

Vail Resorts informed the state this week that it has furloughed nearly 2,000 workers at its various ski resorts, lodges and hotels, equipment rental stores and shuttle service.

The notices, 13 in total, were emailed to the Colorado Department of Labor under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, and follow earlier announcements by the company that it would let workers go in response to widespread closures related to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

“We hope to end the furlough as soon as possible,” wrote Jenn McHose, a senior analyst in employee relations at Vail Resorts. “We expect that the furlough will end within six months, but we do not have a specific date.”

If workers are brought back in six months, the timing would line up with the start of the new ski season. But Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz told employees in a letter last week that his desire was to bring workers back in a month or two at most, as conditions permit.

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“I assure you we will end the furlough as soon as possible once we have clarity on our business reopening,” Katz said.

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